The Buffalo Sabres have been a fragile team for most of the season, so perhaps Tuesday night could be a turning point in that regard.

Steve Ott’s second goal of the game came on a power play in overtime to give the Buffalo Sabres a desperately needed 3-2 win against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday.

The Sabres had jumped out to a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes but then went into a total shell, getting outshot 26-5 from the start of the second to the 17:29 mark of the third period and allowing the Canadiens to come back to tie it. Were it not for goaltender Jhonas Enroth, the Sabres definitely would not have even made it to overtime.

Interim Sabres coach Ron Rolston saw his team’s play over the final 40 minutes of regulation as indicative of the nightmarish season it has gone through. But with the end result being positive he hopes this is the start of a turnaround.

“I think what you saw in the latter part of the game is kind of where we’re at right now,” said Rolston, who saw his team improve to 5-5-3 since he took over from Lindy Ruff on Feb. 20. “We had a two-goal lead, we played well, and then the confidence of our team – especially when they got their first one – we faltered a little bit there. I was happy that we caught ourselves, but that’s where we’re at right now as a team. I liked the fact that we’re building our resilient nature, but we also have to build the confidence in those games to be able to finish them off. That’s another step.”

Tyler Ennis also scored and Enroth made 32 saves, including 24 in the second and third periods to allow the Sabres (11-15-4) to earn just their second win in eight games (2-3-3).

“This was a real tough game for me, a lot of movement in the crease; I’m pretty tired right now,” Enroth said. “But I think the guys did a very good job blocking shots, clearing rebounds and jumping on pucks.”

http://www.nhl.com/ice/recap.htm?id=2012020433&navid=sb:recap

Kadri helps Maple Leafs end skid

Nazem Kadri continues to produce for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Kadri set a new career mark with three assists as the Maple Leafs snapped a five-game winless streak with a 4-2 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Air Canada Centre on Wednesday.

Holding a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes, the Maple Leafs blew the game wide open before the halfway point, with three goals in the first 7:22 of the second period en route to a 4-0 lead after two periods.

Dion Phaneuf began the barrage 52 seconds into the second when he scored his fifth goal on a high drive from the blue line that eluded Mathieu Garon to make it 2-0.

Later, with Toronto pressuring, Phil Kessel came streaking in on Garon, but could not control the puck. As two Lightning defenders converged on Kessel, the puck bounded to Tyler Bozak, who was left alone in the slot and ripped home his eighth goal of the season at 6:53.

Bozak’s goal prompted Lightning coach Guy Boucher to pull Garon, who allowed three goals on 13 shots. His replacement, Anders Lindback, got a rude awakening as Nikolai Kulemin greeted him with a goal less than 30 seconds after Bozak’s marker.

Kadri caught the Lightning defenders on their heels, breezing over their blue line before passing it back to Kulemin, who was trailing. Upon receiving the puck, Kulemin dragged it around defenseman Radko Gudas before wiring a shot past Lindback for his fourth of the season.

After going eight games without a goal, Kulemin has now scored twice in as many games.

Garon’s exit turned out to be temporary. He reappeared in goal with 12:16 to go in the game as Lindback headed for the dressing room for an undisclosed reason.

While the Maple Leafs took the play to the Lightning, Tampa Bay was not without its chances in the middle period. Tyler Johnson took a centering feed in the blue paint, but James Reimer (26 saves) got his stick on the tip-in attempt.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/recap.htm?id=2012020438&navid=sb:recap

This Day In Sabres History:

March 21, 1971

At Boston Garden, the Bruins outshoot the Sabres 56-25. The Sabres win 7-5 behind Eddie Shack’s second hat trick of the season.